


au shorts

by gullapip



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Trans Character, Unreliable Narrator, apologetic use of memes, i played myself, jack is not tech savvy, let sparky be existential, no major warnings but any other content warnings in the chapter notes where applicable, this was supposed to just be jokes, when it's murdoc's pov at least
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2019-11-05 15:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17921873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gullapip/pseuds/gullapip
Summary: up next: in this house we talk shit about james macgyver-my partner and i were chatting about trans gal mac plus murdoc on the team and cracking jokes and now here we are





	1. interruption

They’re currently pinned down in a warehouse front for a smuggling operation- an operation that the local government allegedly had dealings with, the same local government that was now pinning them down there. Certainly not the first time Murdoc had found himself in hot water with a smuggling operation, or on the business end of a military issue rifle. Although to be fair, there’s now the addition of Jack doing some very heavy lifting and attempting to return fire, and Riley doing her best to establish contact with Phoenix for exfil coordinates, leaving Murdoc to guard the smugglers they’d tied up, because Jack doesn’t trust Murdoc around him with a rifle and little to no supervision, which is fair. But he isn’t worried.

 

Because Mac is also there, and currently in a flurry piecing together the brilliant plan that’s knit itself together in her mind faster than she can express, and Murdoc is _enamored_ with watching her. He sighs, wondering how he got this lucky, grinning a little as he tracks her with his gaze around the warehouse, one hand holding a handgun aimed at the men he’s supposed to be guarding.

 

‘What the fuck are you so happy about? They’re not gonna kill us, they _need_ us! But they’re gonna _slaughter_ you.’ One of them is chomping at the bit, trying to get a reaction out of him, and the only reason Murdoc responds is because it gives him the chance to gush about Mac, not even pausing to look at the man he’s replying to.

 

‘Isn’t she _marvelous_ ? We’ll be _just_ fine.’ Then, he adds, ‘Well, I will be. You’re all screwed.’

 

‘What? What the fuck are you- the bitch pulling apart my radiator? Yeah, real-’ The man cuts off with a grunt when Murdoc cracks the butt of his gun across his face, still watching Mac flit around with an adoring expression. He sees her pause momentarily at the noise, confused, and glance at him, then towards the smugglers, opening her mouth to ask a question.

 

‘Nothing, my dear! Everything’s just fine,’ Murdoc assures her with a little wave. He hates to interrupt her when she’s working.


	2. interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> direct deposit is about as tech savvy as jack gets

For the third time that day, Murdoc finds his gun batted out of the face of someone who, in his defense, very legitimately got in the way of their mission objective. Twice it was by Mac and once by Riley, who just doesn’t even truly fear him anymore, but he supposes that’s the price he pays for getting to call Mac ‘darling’ during work hours. Jack isn’t afraid of him either- and Murdoc is  _ not  _ afraid of anyone  _ Langley  _ churned out- but he did threaten to scruff him like a cat and drop him in the Seine, a threat that surely he would happily try to follow through on. And while he’s sure he could get in at least a few good shots if that happened, Murdoc has weighed the pros and cons and found that risk to not be worth the trouble. Yet.

 

In the meantime, he’s blowing an audibly exasperated exhale out of his mouth in Mac’s direction, before making a grand show of pointing his gun in any other direction but at the dock worker they’re currently questioning. ‘Honestly, I don’t know how you people get anything done. And besides that, Jack shoots people all the time!’

 

‘Hey, I only shoot  _ bad  _ guys,’ Jack insists, waving his own gun pointedly in Murdoc’s direction, and Murdoc doesn’t even try to look like he’s resisting rolling his eyes.

 

‘Oh  _ yes _ , that’s right, because it’s not contract murder if it’s the  _ government  _ signing your checks,’ he prods at a sore point between them with a completely disingenuous smile.

 

‘We’ve got direct deposit now!’

 

‘Your simplicity knows no bounds, Jack,’ Murdoc sighs, mock fondly.

 

‘I was bein’  _ sarcastic _ , and  _ you’re _ being a tall drink of pain in my ass,’ Jack shoots back, indicating Murdoc with a jab of his gun.

 

‘Well, that-’

 

‘Hey! If you’re done being children,’ Riley cuts in, pointedly, while Mac thanks the dock worker for the help behind her. ‘We figured out who murdered the ambassador.’

 

‘An’ we didn’t even have to shoot nobody, what a surprise!’ Jack drawls, also pointedly.

 

‘Don’t lie, you were hoping for a fight too,’ Murdoc scoffs.

 

Jack noticeably changes the subject.


	3. espionage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> outing myself as a filthy meme lover and former art student today

Bozer begins to suspect tampering when Sparky’s head falls off and he says, face down on the table, lengths of cable still attached to the rest of him, ‘Oh. I suppose I’ll just perish then.’

 

It’s oddly existential for him, and a little disturbingly themed, frankly, and Bozer wonders where he learned something like that.

-

He’s nearly forgotten about it when another tech accidentally spills coffee on some exposed electronics at their station, causing sparks and smoke and some minor panic.

 

‘Mood,’ Sparky intones from across the lab, but everyone else is so focused on preventing a fire, Bozer wonders later if he even heard it at all.

-

But finally, this bizarre trend of responses reaches a peak when Bozer is having trouble piecing together something, some programming, for Sparky’s learning processes. Eventually he just throws up his hands with a frustrated noise, declaring it a project for another day.

 

‘Sorry, Sparky,’ he sighs. ‘We’ll have to work on your adaptation another time.’

 

‘Then I shall face God and walk backwards into hell,’ Sparky declares from behind him, with all the inflection of a dial tone. Bozer is so confused when he whips around, all he can think to say is, ‘You can’t even walk!’

 

‘Spiritually.’

 

‘What?!’

-

After some googling, Bozer stalks into the war room to find the team almost entirely assembled. He shoves his tablet out in front of him, with his search results on display, and demands, ‘Which one of you has been teaching Sparky weird memes?! He’s got a block and he won’t tell me!’

 

There’s a pause of confused silence, then-

 

‘What the hell is a ‘meem’?’ Jack asks, squinting at the tablet. ‘Is that- is that the president? Bozer, is this some kinda conspiracy thing? Cuz I told you, man, I’ve been to Area 51, and-’

 

‘No! It’s like- it’s jokes, but- Riley, can you please translate this into old man for him?’ Bozer pleads, but she’s too busy laughing hard enough to be holding her stomach.

 

‘Is it messing with his logic process?’ Mac asks, attempting to be pragmatic in the face of her friend’s frustration.

 

‘No, but- it’s just weird! It’s creeping me out!’

 

‘Okay, well, if Sparky won’t tell you, maybe the security cameras will?’

 

Bozer's eyes light up and hope rises anew. ‘Yes- yes! Of course! I’m going to Security-’

 

He rushes out of the room, tablet in hand, and nearly barrels into Murdoc in the hallway, who deftly lifts his coffee out of the way with a curious tilt of his head.

 

‘Is something wrong?’ Murdoc asks, like he’s expecting a mission.

 

‘Someone’s been teaching Sparky to say some creepy memes to freak me out, and I’m about to find out _who_ ,’ Bozer insists, triumphant, and has already turned to head towards the Security department when he hears Murdoc behind him, just before taking a sip of his coffee, ‘Oh. Mood.’

 

He freezes in place, then turns slowly back around, to see Murdoc still watching him with a vaguely curious expression over the rim of his cup. ‘You- what did you just say?’

 

‘Did I say something?’

 

‘Yes! It’s _you-_ how do you- you’re old!’ Bozer protests. ‘I mean, not as old as Jack, but- and creepy! You’re not a normal guy! How do you even know these??’

 

‘I enjoy art, Bozer, you know that. Fine, classical, modern… We’re in quite the renaissance era of existential public works. Think neo-dada mixed with pre-war nihilism and a dash of new tech. It’s fascinating,’ Murdoc explains, smiling a little over his cup.

 

‘But- why _Sparky_? Why hide it?’

 

‘You spilled acid on my favorite shoes,’ Murdoc reminds him, with a slight frown that’s nearly a pout. ‘And,’ he adds, the frown morphing into something wide and vicious approximating a grin, leaning in to murmur quietly over the top of his cup. ‘Because no one will ever believe you.’

 

He leans back, leaving Bozer standing stunned in the hallway, and pivots on his heel to continue walking toward the war room.

 

‘Oh, and by the way,’ he adds as he strolls, glancing back at Bozer, still locked in cognitive dissonance. ‘I erased the recordings.’

 

It takes nearly a minute, by which time Murdoc is long gone, settled in with the others, for Bozer’s face to wrinkle up as he assures himself that yes, his memory that he's just combed through is correct. He jabs a finger at the empty hallway, making beeline for the war room. ‘Wait a minute- you _hated_ those shoes!


	4. embellishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning: reference to the child/animal abuse alluded to/discussed in 2x15

Mac is detailing the stories behind a photo album, when the subject comes up again. Murdoc remains cagey, but she doesn’t usually push, not directly. She’s gotten good at circumventing the winding path of conversation Murdoc can quickly lead someone down. 

 

‘You don’t want to know,’ he’s said before, his usual response in some way. ‘I don’t want you to know those details. It will only hurt you.’

 

‘My father was a monster in the way only a human can be,’ was something he let slip once, before immediately twisting it into something else for a laugh.

 

Mac doesn’t react anymore, when he peppers the conversation with lies and jokes and innuendo. She just waits until he’s gotten it out of his system, deflected as much as he needs to while keeping her attention on him, before he’s ready to tell her the truth. Murdoc has learned, the hard way, that she can out last him.

 

But sometimes, she changes things a little, and strikes at the heart of the matter, knowing he won’t deny her.

 

‘I think you lied about those animals,’ Mac says, the album still open on the coffee table in front of them. On the couch, his hand stills in her hair, but his arm stays around her shoulders.

 

‘I lie about most things, darling,’ Murdoc dodges seamlessly, but she doesn’t give him time to change the subject.

 

‘The spiders, and the pigeons. I think you lied. You always avoid animals, you ignore them.’

 

‘Maybe I’m afraid of temptation,’ he says, and Mac knows she’s right when he’s falling back on embellishing violent urges, trying to chase her off by turning her stomach.

 

‘I think you’re afraid of someone hurting them, but I don’t think that someone is you.’

 

Silence. Murdoc shifts beside her, and she clarifies, carefully, ‘I’m not asking you to talk about him. I just want to know if I’m right. Because if I’m wrong and you were telling the truth, I’m breaking up with you. And then arresting you.’

 

She counts it as a win when that gets the corner of his mouth to twitch, he knows Mac knows she's right. Murdoc remains silent, but this time, she waits.

 

Quietly, as he picks up running his fingers through her hair again, he murmurs with a defeated sigh, ‘I should’ve known you’d be this astute.’

 

True to her word, Mac doesn’t ask him to discuss it further. She picks the album back up, and settles against him before turning the page.


	5. undercover 1/2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: murdoc stabs a guy, threats of violence, mentions of sex, murdoc happily spreading the lie that mac killed her father

Eventually, word gets around. Murdoc has been  _ cooperating _ , more than that, he’s now  _ associated with _ the Foundation. His once budding entrepreneurial attempt, the company of killers who subsequently bound and betrayed him to the highest bidder, have taken issue with that. He finds it woefully taxing, and it seems no matter what he does with his life, they won’t be satisfied until that life is exterminated, until _all_ their lives are ended. 

 

Eventually, a decision is reached. Murdoc will return to his former life, and fix the problem he created, allowing them to arrest a group of known assassins at once. But Mac refuses to let him go alone. He begs her not to, if nothing else for Cassian’s sake, and that nearly convinces her- but she stands firm. Their best hope of everyone surviving is going together. 

 

So they go rogue, together- or at least, that’s the official declaration. Unofficially, they’re undercover, together. 

 

Murdoc’s return to what was once mockingly named the  _ Homicide International Trust _ , or HIT on paper, is nearly as flashy as he is. With Mac’s help, the nondescript building in an office park surrounded entirely by puppet corporations has a sudden, rapid string of unfortunate ‘accidents’, setting off the fire alarms, the sprinklers, filling the rooms with smoke and harmless, but specifically scented gas. It forces the occupants to evacuate to the courtyard, where the two of them stand in front of the glittering fountain, both clad all in tailored black and slim leather. And Murdoc just grins, wide and triumphant, with a remote in one hand and Mac on his other arm, as several cars explode beyond the courtyard behind them, completing his symbolic return to power.

 

Again, word quickly gets around. Murdoc has returned, taken control of his corporation in one fell swoop, and seduced the Foundation’s poster child to turn traitor. Where Murdoc is dramatic, unpredictable, vocal; Mac is unshakable, dispassionate, logical, an ice queen unperturbed by the murderers swirling around her, or Murdoc’s flagrant displays of affection- pet names, kisses to the back of her gloved hand, drawing her against his side or perching her on his arm, possessive marks left on her neck peeking above the black turtleneck. The response is immediate, and widely varied.

 

The first time someone shows _interest_ Mac in front of him, Murdoc nearly kills them. They’re going over the finances from his absence together with critical eyes, and he stands to interrogate one of the creepy underlings also hired in his absence- purely for grunt work, but they never would have been recruited if he had stayed. Solely focused on their own pleasure in their work, unskilled and unethical and undisciplined, and therefore unpredictable and untrustworthy. The man breaks his lecherous gaze aimed at Mac to say, speaking like she isn’t even present, ‘I can’t believe you managed to flip  _ that- _ but, I guess you don’t start an operation like this without ambition, right?’ 

 

He chuckles at his own cleverness, and Murdoc can hear the way his teeth grind and clench, ready to spit vitriol when he asks frankly, ‘So what’s the deal? Is she a free for all, or is that reserved for the best performers?’

 

His filthy grin locks in place, then crumbles once the shock gives way to pain, as Murdoc jerks his knife he’d buried into him out of the man’s thigh. He drags it over to the zipper on his trousers, then down, and lets the threat slip from between his teeth, acidic and promising, ‘You  _ will _ stay away from her. Or my next cut will be  _ permanent _ .’

 

Murdoc wants to leave the finances for later, get her away from there under the guise of reaffirming his claim on her, but Mac- who never once paused in her thorough examination of the books- disagrees matter-of-factly, as though nothing had happened at all. It needs to be done, and they’re over halfway through already, as if Murdoc were merely suggesting they break for lunch. He caves easily to her firm whim, however logical, and they leave the man to limp, bleeding, out of the conference room. The handful of other operatives there ensure that the story has spread completely by the end of the day, and Mac starts being referred to as ‘the ice queen’- when Murdoc isn’t around.

 

Conversely, one of his first recruits- still brimming with bitterness and distrust and homicidal urge- exudes suspicion of her, only half in part because of his hatred for Murdoc. He raises the question one day, on a rare occasion when they aren’t attached at the hip: how is Murdoc so sure he was the one who’d done the seducing? With the way he acts around her, Mac could easily be using him as a cover to take them down from the inside.

 

Murdoc has long since prepared for every argument, and he lets himself indulge in this one, the nostalgic, wicked smile that spreads across his face promising a worthy answer.

 

‘You know,’ he begins, recalling the memory fondly. ‘I told her once- ages ago, when we were still chasing each other around the world- how cathartic it was, killing my father. It could work for her too. Mac rejected the idea at the time, but… he proved to be nothing if not a total disappointment and an outright nuisance. Our last stop before coming here was him.’

 

It's all lies, of course- at least, his tale of Mac’s recent actions is, not Murdoc’s feelings for Oversight- but James MacGyver has been untraceable for so long, it was an easy matter to fake an autopsy report, a death certificate, an obituary, a grave, a warrant for Mac’s arrest.

 

‘She used no alias when we traveled there, so there would be no turning back. And I went with her, to support her… and to  _ watch _ . Just as I told her, it was so  _ freeing _ , she had never looked more  _ beautiful _ .'

 

Then his expression shifts, back to the present, to the man confronting him, and his voice echoes the darkness there. 

 

‘But, of course, that was all solely for her benefit, and it  _ will _ stay that way. No one else will hear about this as though it were merely a test of her willingness to turn.’

 

He doesn’t expect the man to oblige- he is on the board of directors they’re blackmailing, after all- but now the story has been planted. It spreads just as quickly, the knowledge of Mac's first act in her new life, and soon after, the proof they’d planted too. More and more, people were slowly becoming swayed to tolerate them, the patricidal power couple who now ruled with clasped iron fists.


	6. unconventional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cassian has really been through some shit and it pisses me off. every adult in this series has failed. in this essay i will

Small feet in shiny uniform shoes hit the ground running the moment Mac releases Cassian from a hug- and after Murdoc gives permission for him to wander, in the form of a faintly conspiratorial suggestion. 'Why don't you go see what Uncle Jack's doing out on the deck, hm?'

They both watch Cassian tear toward the back door and the rest of the team outside, from their vantage point by the front door where Mac had greeted them. She sneaks Murdoc into an embrace now, with a grin and a wry look. 'You know Jack hates it when you call him that.'

'Yes, but he  _adores_ it when Cassian does,' Murdoc replies, coiling arms around her in return and pouting a little. 'Which is just an awful double standard, really.'

'Cass is nine and you've tried to kill Jack more times than that,' Mac points out, and he flicks one hand at nothing before using it to tuck hair behind her ear.

'It was more like one long, extended attempt,' he counters, not bothering to hide the amusement in his expression. 'So really, it was just the one time.'

'Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jack doesn't see it that way,' she chuckles, and Murdoc scoffs.

'Well, that's his problem, isn't it-?'

The telltale combination of something crashing, multiple exclamations, and Cassian's laughter cuts their conversation short, and Mac releases him with a squeeze and a fond sigh. 'And  _that_ is our problem. Let's go see what they broke.'

'Oh, _yes_ please! I was hoping I'd get to see you whip something up today.'


	7. oversight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to psi_fi's fic for reminding me what a terrible decision jill morgan's promotion was. also i just really hate james macgyver

It's not their first disagreement, sure, but there's an undercurrent to it. Something harder and festering, that takes it from a simple disagreement to a desperate argument.

Murdoc knows he's more than partly to blame for that. He's been trying to 'play nice' with James MacGyver and it's been grating at him, in far more ways than one. They don't like each other and they don't respect each other, blatantly, but only one of them wields the kind of power Oversight now has, and it goes against Murdoc's every instinct just to live with how much that man knows, let alone interact with him.

The least he can do is keep him away from Cassian; and at first, he was hardly allowed to see his son himself, so it was a nonissue. But now Mac is not just a part of his life, but Cassian's as well, and Cassian has been getting curious. 

'I _know_ you don't like him, but- he has changed. _You've_ changed too,' Mac pleads with him over the kitchen counter, not for the first time, while Murdoc methodically chops carrots and pretends they're James' fingers. 'And they'd never be out of our sight. I just… we both know what it's like to not have family around. Wouldn't it be good for Cassian to have more adults around who care about him? Who can protect him?'

There's a tense silence, while Mac waits for an answer he doesn't intend to give. She gets quieter, staring at the countertop. 'And… it's not like I'm in any position to have kids. Cassian- he'll probably be the only kid in my life, y'know? Related or not. So-'

The loud scrape of the knife against the board, pushing a pile of carrots to the side, cuts her off. Murdoc's handis  wrapped tight around the handle as he stills and replies, quietly too, but harsh in a way he'll immediately regret, 'I won't offer my son up to him just so you can give that man grandchildren.'

'That's not-!' Mac starts to protest, but in a very small way, it kind of is, and her lips purse shut. She takes a breath and tries again. 'I'm not saying he wasn't a crappy dad or that he's even a great guy, but he wouldn't be awful to a kid. Not now, I know he wouldn't. And if we try to hide him from Cassian, I mean, he _is_ your kid. He's smart, he'll figure out something's up. I just... wanna give them a chance to get to know each other.' She looks up at Murdoc, who has paused to sweep the carrot pieces into a pot and replace them with celery on the cutting board. 'I gave you a chance, and that worked out pretty well, didn't it?'

He stops short of the first cut at her quiet, earnest question, the fight draining out of him- for a moment. But then he remembers, and Murdoc exhales, voice tight in an attempt to explain without snapping at Mac directly. He keeps his eyes on the knife, making firm, steady cuts. 'This isn't a matter of second chances, because my concern isn't that he'll harm Cassian outright. My concern is that he will try to _use_ him- _continue_ to try to use him, since he’s done so readily for as long as he's known about him, and I'm _absolutely certain_ he has contingency plans in place that involve him, should I prove to screw up my own second chance.'

Mac opens her mouth to say something, but he isn't done. Murdoc continues, his voice and his cuts still steady, but harder. 'He manipulates and uses every person around him, unrepentantly, including _his own child_ . He manipulated me _once_ , and he won't get a second chance-’ Each word is punctuated by a firm chop. 'I. Will. Not. Be. _Used_.'

'What- what are you talking about?' Mac asks, softly, after the silent tension eases, while she waited to see if he had anything else to say. She's clearly confused, and tries to put the pieces she has together. 'Do you mean, the info you gave us in prison? To see Cass-'

'Jill Morgan.'

Mac is too stunned to reply at first, to breathe for a moment, taking a sudden inhale before exhaling, 'What?'

'Your replacement at Phoenix, as head of the task force assigned to hunt me down after you quit-'

'I know who she was!' Mac interrupts his flat reminder, the steady, methodical chopping growing more and more irritating, and the way he won't look her in the eye ties her stomach in knots. It was one of the few moments that still had a hook in her, the painful memory stuck in a corner of her mind. Murdoc had killed her, ostensibly to keep Phoenix off his trail, but Mac had _known_ Jill, they all had, and- 'What does she have to do with my dad? Just because he runs-'

'He _handpicked_ her,' Murdoc spits out, matter-of-fact. 'Selected the brightest tech he had, with absolutely no field experience, and sent her on a wild goose chase to attempt some forensic magic on a few of my former crime scenes. Then she picked up the phone I meant for you, and eventually became another tragic casualty of my career. _On purpose_ . When I shot her it was the fly James needed on the line he cast to reel you back home. She was _bait_ , and I made certain she fulfilled that role.'

Her head is spinning, and at some point she managed to sink onto the stool beside her, remembering how her father described Jill, spoke highly of her, called her a genius. A lab tech, practically a civilian. They were nearly the same age. 'How do you know he did that?' She asks, nearly a whisper, and can hear how desperate she sounds for it to not be true.

'You were obviously distraught. Later on, I looked into her. I wanted to know how much damage I had done, and then I got curious.' Murdoc doesn't sound overtly guilty, but his tone isn’t malicious either. She's used to the straightforward, detached way he talks about what he's done. 'It made no sense, until I found out about everything he'd done to you.'

'For me,' Mac corrects him quietly, but even she can tell how distant and rehearsed that sounds. She's hurting from both of their actions and Murdoc is still chopping away, still won't look at her, and she finally snaps, pleading and frustrated, '-Would you please just look at me?!'

His head snaps up the moment she asks, his focus immediately diverted, and the knife catches a few of his fingers in the next moment, leaving a cut across them while he hisses and abandons the celery for the sink. 

Murdoc is washing the knife and his hands in silence when Mac walks around the counter, to come up beside him, beginning to press close.

'You kinda deserved that,' she points out, apologetically, and Murdoc agrees.

'I deserve much worse,' he corrects her, frank, but apologetic too, taking the kitchen towel she offers him to dry off. 

'I'm still… reconciling that, sometimes. And what he's done,' she murmurs, resting her head on his shoulder after he folds her carefully into his arms. Murdoc rests his cheek on her hair in return, after pressing a kiss there. Their disagreement can wait.

'I know.'


End file.
